Bishop Eusebio Elizondo (left), Aux. Bishop Archdiocese of Seattle, walks a known illegal immigrant route with other Bishops in the desert near Green Valley, Ariz. March 31, 2014. The visit was part of a two-day trip by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Migration to "highlight the human suffering caused by a broken immigration system."(Photo: Michael Chow/The Republic)

NOGALES, Ariz. -- At a Mass held under the shadow of the border fence this morning, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston called on Congress for comprehensive immigration reform this year.

"The system is broken, causes terrible suffering and is a waste of human resosurces," O'Malley said.

"We've lost the sense of responsibility for our brothers and sisters. ... America at its best is not the bigotry and xenophobia of the know-nothings but the welcome of The New Colussus."

O'Malley was accompanied by eight other members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and 17 other priests. The clergy gave communion to people on the Mexican side of the fence as part of the Mass.

"We see this as a moral issue, as an ethical issue," said Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the Tucson Diocese. Kicanas said the bishops are concerned about the deaths of migrants in the desert "and the families who are separated because of deportations, which we see all the time in our parishes."

The committee of bishops, which favors a path to citizenship for undocumented migrants, on Friday called on Catholics to pray, fast and take action for immigration reform, such as sending members of Congress electronic postcards advocating change.

On Monday, the bishops walked through the desert in Green Valley, along a route near Interstate 10 often used by migrants; they visited a shelter and an aid center for migrants operated by the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Sonora; and they toured the border with the Border Patrol. They also planned visits today to the federal courthouse in Tucson to observe deportation hearings and to the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office. That office stores and tries to identify most remains of migrants found in the desert.

Kicanas said he met recently with the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector chief, Manuel Padilla, in preparation for the bishops' visit.

"He was worried about the increasing number of women and unaccompanied children they're seeing cross and about what will happen this summer," Kicanas said.

Bishop Gerald Kicanas, dioceses of Tucson, offers communion through the border fence to people in Mexico during mass on the border in Nogales, Arizona, on April 1, 2014. (Photo: Michael Chow/The Republic)

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, looks where migrants would cross from Mexico into the U.S. while walking in the desert north of Nogales, Arizona, April 1, 2014. (Photo: Michael Chow/The Republic)

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, is followed by media while looking where migrants would cross from Mexico into the U.S. while walking in the desert north of Nogales, Arizona, April 1, 2014. (Photo: Michael Chow/The Republic)